9780415914086
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Madrid, 1937: Letters of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade from the Spanish Civil War share button
Cary Nelson
Genre Biography
Format Hardcover
Dimensions 6.00 (w) x 9.00 (h) x 1.31 (d)
Pages 624
Publisher Taylor & Francis, Inc.
Publication Date March 1996
ISBN 9780415914086
Book ISBN 10 0415914086
About Book
Few topics in 20th century history generate as much interest as the Spanish Civil War. These letter from the Abraham Lincoln Brigade take us back to a time when 2800 Americans took up arms and confronted Hitler's Condor Legion, Mussolini's Black Shirts, and Franco's fascist calvary on the battlefields of Spain. Here are their combat experiences, the love letters they wrote under fire, friendships formed among themselves and with their Spanish comrades, and reports of Madrid and Barcelona undergoing history's first saturation bombing of civilian targets. It was the eve of World War II, and these men and women saw first-hand the danger facing the world. I adrid 1937 captures for the first time the thoughts, words and dreams of those who fought.

More than a collection of separate letters, Madrid 1937 gathers letters from many hands to tell a group story. Richly illustrated with over 50 color and black and white plates, this chronicle enables the reader to travel with the volunteers through France and Spain; visit the beseiged city of Madrid and walk the streets of Barcelona under fascist bombardment; experience the chaos of battle and the excitement of celebrations behind the lines; stand beside nurses and doctors as they struggle to save the lives of the wounded; and encounter famous writers such as Ernest Hemingway and Langston Hughes. Madrid 1937 tells a story of epic proportion, the struggle of a volunteer army who chose to risk their lives in the struggle against Fascism.
Reviews

Library Journal

The Spanish Civil War (1936-39) was a bloody dress rehearsal for World War II, but few Americans realized it at the time. Over 2800 Americans volunteered to fight for Spain's democratically elected government against the Fascists, who were supported by German and Italian troops, planes, and tanks. The Americans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade came from all social classes and occupations. Few had any military skills and training, but all possessed a desire to fight the rising tide of Fascism. The editors, both college professors, have collected hundreds of letters from the American veterans and their families. Organized chronologically by subject, these letters reveal the American volunteers to be idealistic about politics and nave about war. Covering training, battles, and hardships, the letters reveal the volunteers' patriotic fervor, hope, fatigue, despair, and friendships, as well as the numbing fear of artillery and air attack and the chilling terror of close combat. Historically concise and humanly real, this book is a superb companion to Peter Wyden's The Passionate War (1983). For the general reader and history buff.-Col. William D. Bushnell, USMC (ret.), Brunswick, Me.
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